The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for molding resin products such as console boxes provided in vehicle passenger compartments, and, more particularly, to apparatuses and methods for molding resin products such as console boxes having a flange.
Generally, a shift lever is provided between a vehicle driver seat and an adjacent passenger seat for altering the vehicle speed. A console box is located behind the shift lever for accommodating, for example, music tapes or CD""s. The console box is an integral body formed of synthetic resin and has an upper opening that is covered by a lid. The console box is opened and closed with the lid. A flat portion having a predetermined dimension is formed along the upper opening for supporting the lid.
FIGS. 13 and 14 each show examples of prior art console boxes. As shown in FIG. 13, a console box 71 has an outer side plate 72 and an inner side plate 73 and is formed as an integral body. The integral body is molded using a pair of molds that are vertically separated from each other. The console box 71 has a bent portion 74 formed between the outer side plate 72 and the inner side plate 73. The bent portion 74 supports a lid (not shown) with which the console box 71 is opened and closed.
As shown in FIG. 14, a console box 81 includes an upper section 82 and a lower section 83, which are separately molded. The upper section 82 is welded to the lower section 83 at a coupling portion 84. The console box 81 includes an inward flange 85 formed along an upper end of the upper section 82 to face the interior of the box 81. The flange 85 supports a lid (not shown) with which the console box 81 is opened and closed.
The console box 71 of FIG. 13 has a double-walled structure having the outer side plate 72 and the inner side plate 73. This structure reduces the capacity of the console box 71. Further, since the console box 71 has the inner side plate 73 and the outer side plate 72, a relatively large amount of resin material is required for forming the console box 71. This increases costs.
In contrast, the console box 81 of FIG. 14 has a relatively large capacity. However, since the console box 81 includes the inward flange 85, it is impossible to form the console box 81 as an integral body molded with a pair of molds that are vertically separated from each other. Instead, to form the console box 81, the upper section 82 and the lower section 83 must be molded independently. The molded upper and lower sections 82, 83 are then welded to each other. That is, three independent steps are needed for forming the console box 81. This complicates the procedure for forming the console box 81 and increases costs.
Accordingly, to solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for molding resin products by which a resin product having a relatively large capacity is formed efficiently and inexpensively.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an apparatus for molding a resin product having a bottom plate, a pair of side plates, and a pair of flanges. The side plates are formed integrally with the bottom plate to extend from opposite sides of the bottom plate, and each flange is formed integrally with the associated side plate to extend inward from an upper end of the side plate. The apparatus includes a pair of inner slidable cores for shaping an upper side of the bottom plate, an inner side of each side plate, and a lower side of each flange. The apparatus also includes an intermediate core provided between the inner slidable cores for restricting a position of each inner slidable core at a predetermined position. The apparatus further includes a sliding mechanism for sliding each inner slidable core to a position spaced from the resin product while moving the inner slidable core and the intermediate core relative to each other in a vertical direction with respect to a molding position.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.